John Cena and Nikki Bella split after six years

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John Cena and Nikki Bella have called off their engagement after a six-year relationship.

The wrestling star-turned-actor and fiancee Nikki, one half of wrestling team The Bella Twins, announced the news in a statement to Us Weekly magazine.

"While this decision was a difficult one, we continue to have a great deal of love and respect for one another," they said. "We ask that you respect our privacy during this time in our lives."

According to People, John and Nikki were just weeks away from their destination wedding, which was set to take place on 5 May.

Shortly after the news went public, Blockers star John took to Instagram to share an image from TV show The Simpsons which featured the words "Worst day ever" in capital letters.

The couple began dating in late 2012 and got engaged at the Wrestlemania 33 live TV event last April (17). They endured plenty of highs and lows in their relationship, with John admitting in February that the pair were working through an "extreme low" in their romance. And it seems the duo's differing views on having children may have had something to do with their decision to split, as a recent teaser for Nikki's reality show Total Bellas showed.

"I would never force you not to be a mum," John told Nikki in an emotional discussion between the pair, before she replied: "I thought I could really sacrifice that (not having kids) and I just can't."

Her comment then prompted the Trainwreck actor to question their future together, as he confessed, "I'm not sure we should go through with this (getting married)."

John also spoke to Us Weekly last month about the amount of work that both he and Nikki have to put in on their relationship.

"Relationships are hard. Don't ever think that love is easy," he explained. "We work every day on us. We have our problems just like everybody else. Some of our problems are very public, some of them aren't. But we work every day on us. Anytime I get upset, I always just realise that I can't live without her and I love her and that's why I cave in on a lot of stuff."